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Comment: Jenny Hjul: Society must realise that no anonymity means no donors

Being a sperm donor was always one of those student japes — like volunteering for sleep deprivation experiments or being a member of day-time television studio audiences — wacky enough to brag about in the union bar afterwards yet also lucrative (at least for a student). But the £15 or so beer money will soon cease to be an inducement, even for the poorest sperm donors, once new rules to waive their right to anonymity are introduced next year.

Melanie Johnson, the public health minister, announced this week that children born from sperm or egg donations will in future be able to know the identity of their biological parents after they reach 18. The young man, or woman, who gave of himself, or herself, in a moment of youthful bravura will one day have to confront the existence of a grown-up son or daughter and deal with it.